ZoomInfo vs. Clearbit: Which should you choose?

About ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo maintains a massive database — we're talking hundreds of millions of B2B contacts with emails, phone numbers, and org charts. Plus intent data that reveals when companies are actively researching specific topics. Connect it to your CRM and sales tools to automatically populate contact information. Build outreach campaigns, run marketing programs, recruit talent — all powered by the same underlying contact goldmine.

About Clearbit

Clearbit takes minimal inputs like emails or domains and transforms them into detailed firmographic, technographic, and contact intelligence through APIs and integrations. Excels at real-time data enrichment for forms and CRMs — you reduce form fields while automatically populating prospect details. But here's the catch: no built-in outreach or sales tools. You get enriched data, period.

What do users say?

ZoomInfo gets mixed reviews from the trenches. Users acknowledge it delivers solid contact information and works well for finding leads at larger companies. But they consistently complain about data quality issues — outdated contacts, incorrect job titles, phone numbers that route to reception instead of your actual prospect. Then there's the pricing frustration: $200-$7,000+ monthly with zero transparency, complex setup, and aggressive contract terms. Customer service? Users aren't thrilled. Despite these headaches, many still consider it the best option available. Pro tip from users: pair it with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to verify accuracy.

Clearbit users praise its data enrichment power and seamless integration with Gmail, Salesforce, and other platforms. They love the company insights, employee counts, and business intelligence that enhance prospecting efforts. Easy to use, solid data quality, major time-saver for automatically enriching leads. The downsides? Occasional data gaps (especially European contacts), sluggish customer support, and pricing transparency issues that'll sound familiar.

Comparison

ZoomInfo

Delivers an extensive B2B contact database with hundreds of millions of contacts, rich firmographics, technographics, and intent data across multiple modules. The trade-off? Enterprise-level pricing starting around $15k annually plus interface complexity that can overwhelm users. Aggressive contract terms come standard.

Clearbit

Specializes in real-time data enrichment — excels at converting minimal inputs into comprehensive company and contact information with robust API integration. The limitation? Scope stays focused on data enrichment without built-in outreach tools. Pricing escalates quickly based on volume usage.

ZoomInfo works best for mid-to-large enterprises with substantial budgets who need comprehensive outbound prospecting capabilities. Its extensive contact database and intent data power large-scale outreach campaigns and account-based marketing initiatives.

Clearbit serves growth-oriented teams, SMBs, and developers who prioritize data enrichment and integration flexibility over comprehensive sales tools. Both platforms support contact-based marketing — ZoomInfo provides direct contact acquisition while Clearbit enriches existing leads. For marketers running robust contact-based campaigns, identifying and reaching specific decision-makers remains crucial for personalization and targeting effectiveness. Your choice depends on whether you need net-new contacts or enhanced data on existing prospects.

Do you need account-based marketing, or something else?

Here's what's flipping ABM on its head: your funnel isn't about anonymous accounts. It's about the decision-makers and influencers within those accounts.

That's what makes contact-based marketing (CBM) a breakthrough. Instead of chasing broad account intent signals, contact-based marketing pinpoints the EXACT people engaging with your content in real-time — even when they don't convert.

This solves the traditional intent-based marketing problem by clearing up the ambiguity.

Contact-level data reveals high-priority leads by identifying the individuals behind key touchpoints. Deliver hyper-targeted ads based on specific contact behaviors. Bridge the gap between marketing and sales alignment with actionable, lead-level insights.